The Poetical Works of Addison; Gay's Fables; and Somerville's Chase. Джозеф Аддисон

roving Gaul, to his own bounds restrained,

        Learns to encamp within his native land,

        But soon as the victorious host he spies,

        From hill to hill, from stream to stream he flies:

        Such dire impressions in his heart remain

        Of Marlborough's sword, and Hochstet's fatal plain:

        In vain Britannia's mighty chief besets

        Their shady coverts, and obscure retreats;

        They fly the conqueror's approaching fame,

        That bears the force of armies in his name,

           Austria's young monarch, whose imperial sway

        Sceptres and thrones are destined to obey,

        Whose boasted ancestry so high extends

        That in the pagan gods his lineage ends,

        Comes from afar, in gratitude to own

        The great supporter of his father's throne;

        What tides of glory to his bosom ran,

        Clasped in the embraces of the godlike man!

        How were his eyes with pleasing wonder fixed

        To see such fire with so much sweetness mixed,

        Such easy greatness, such a graceful port,

        So turned and finished for the camp or court!

        Achilles thus was formed with every grace,

        And Nireus shone but in the second place;

        Thus the great father of almighty Rome

        (Divinely flushed with an immortal bloom,

        That Cytherea's fragrant breath bestowed)

        In all the charms of his bright mother glowed.

        The royal youth by Marlborough's presence charmed,

        Taught by his counsels, by his actions warmed,

        On Landau with redoubled fury falls,

        Discharges all his thunder on its walls,

        O'er mines and caves of death provokes the fight,

        And learns to conquer in the hero's sight.

           The British chief, for mighty toils renowned,

        Increased in titles, and with conquests crowned,

        To Belgian coasts his tedious march renews,

        And the long windings of the Rhine pursues,

        Clearing its borders from usurping foes,

        And blessed by rescued nations as he goes.

        Treves fears no more, freed from its dire alarms;

        And Trærbach feels the terror of his arms,

        Seated on rocks her proud foundations shake,

        While Marlborough presses to the bold attack,

        Plants all his batteries, bids his cannon roar,

        And shows how Landau might have fallen before.

        Scared at his near approach, great Louis fears

        Vengeance reserved for his declining years,

        Forgets his thirst of universal sway,

        And scarce can teach his subjects to obey;

        His arms he finds on vain attempts employed,

        The ambitious projects for his race destroyed,

        The work of ages sunk in one campaign,

        And lives of millions sacrificed in vain.

           Such are the effects of Anna's royal cares:

        By her, Britannia, great in foreign wars,

        Ranges through nations, wheresoo'er disjoined,

        Without the wonted aid of sea and wind.

        By her the unfettered Ister's states are free,

        And taste the sweets of English liberty:

        But who can tell the joys of those that lie

        Beneath the constant influence of her eye!

        Whilst in diffusive showers her bounties fall,

        Like heaven's indulgence, and descend on all,

        Secure the happy, succour the distressed,

        Make every subject glad, and a whole people blessed.

           Thus would I fain Britannia's wars rehearse,

        In the smooth records of a faithful verse;

        That, if such numbers can o'er time prevail,

        May tell posterity the wondrous tale.

        When actions, unadorned, are faint and weak,

        Cities and countries must be taught to speak;

        Gods may descend in factions from the skies,

        And rivers from their oozy beds arise;

        Fiction may deck the truth with spurious rays,

        And round the hero cast a borrowed blaze.

        Marlborough's exploits appear divinely bright,

        And proudly shine in their own native light;

        Raised of themselves, their genuine charms they boast,

        And those who paint them truest praise them most.

      COWLEY'S EPITAPH ON HIMSELF.

      TRANSLATED BY MR ADDISON

        From life's superfluous cares enlarged,

        His debt of human toil discharged,

        Here Cowley lies! beneath this shed,

        To every worldly interest dead;

        With decent poverty content,

        His hours of ease not idly spent;

        To fortune's goods a foe profess'd,

        And hating wealth by all caress'd.

        'Tis true he's dead; for oh! how small

        A spot of earth is now his all:

        Oh! wish that earth may lightly lay,

        And every care be far away;

        Bring flowers; the short-lived roses bring,

        To life deceased, fit offering:

        And sweets around the poet strow,

        Whilst yet with life his ashes glow.

      PROLOGUE TO THE TENDER HUSBAND.8

      SPOKEN BY MR WILKS

        In the first rise and infancy of Farce,

        When fools were many, and when plays were scarce,

        The raw, unpractised authors could, with ease,

        A young and unexperienced audience please:

        No single character had e'er been shown,

        But the whole herd of fops was all their own;

        Rich in originals, they set to view,

        In every piece, a coxcomb that was new.

           But now our British theatre can boast

        Drolls

8

A comedy written by Sir Richard Steel.